iOS 8.4 Problems: 5 Things You Need to Know

Apple’s brand new iOS 8.4 update is here and it brings the company’s new Apple Music platform along with bug fixes and enhancements. And according to some iPhone and iPad users, it brings some issue too. With those issues in mind, we want to take a look at the five most important things to know about iOS 8.4 problems today and going forward.

Apple first confirmed the iOS 8.4 update back in April, shortly after it released the iOS 8.3 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The update wasn’t confirmed in a blog post or on stage. Instead, it was confirmed thanks to a release for developers in the company’s paid developer program.

Earlier this month, Apple showed iOS 8.4 off on stage alongside Apple Music and iOS 9. And while the company confirmed a June 30th release for Apple Music, it did not outline a public iOS 8.4 release date. Up until today, the update was only available to those in Apple’s beta programs.

Today, Apple released iOS 8.4 into the wild and as expected, it brings new features on top of bug fixes for lingering iOS 8 problems. It also has brought some iOS 8.4 problems to iPhone and iPad owners in the United States and in other regions around the globe.

With these iOS 8.4 problems swirling on release day, we want to take a look at everything you need to know about these issues today, tomorrow and next month. This roundup offers a look at the issues themselves and some steps to take if you do happen to run into iOS 8.4 issues on your device.

iOS 8.4 Problems Plague iPhone & iPad Users

The iOS 8.4 update is only a few hours old and we’re already seeing a number of complaints about iOS 8.4 problems. Most of these issues appear to be isolated though there’s always a potential for complaints to grow as more people decide to install the iOS 8.4 update.

The fact that iOS 8.4 problems exist shouldn’t come as a surprise. iOS 8.4 arrives on a solid foundation after a lengthy beta process but we’ve never seen a perfect iOS update. iOS updates, big and small, always arrive with their own collection of problems and that’s why you have to be extremely careful. Something to remember as we push deeper into the year towards more iOS updates and iOS 9.

We’re already seeing a number of complaints about iOS 8.4. The loudest complaints thus far are about bad iOS 8.4 battery life. Users have taken to Apple’s discussion forum and social media to complain about poor battery life after installing iOS 8.4 and Apple Music:

Anybody noticing iOS 8.4 / Apple Music is a big battery hog? I was at 100% at 9:15 when I finished installing, now at 38% 1.5 hours later.

We point these out for a few reasons. First, to help point you in the right direction if you’re suffering from similar problems. And second, to generate discussion. If we bring attention to these issues and other problems, we could out a fix or we could motivate Apple to fix them in a future update. It has happened before and we’re confident it will happen again.

iOS 8.4 on iPhone & iPad

We’ve been digging into the iOS 8.4 update for a few hours now and we’ve been having a solid experience across all of our devices. That includes the iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad 3, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5. We’ve also seen other iOS 8.4 users post positive feedback about the update.

We’ve already taken a close look at the performance on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s and we plan to post detailed impressions for the rest of the devices in the future. So far, all of them are behaving with iOS 8.4 on board. We’ll reserve final judgement until we’ve been able to spend a week with iOS 8.4.

So why do we bring this up? Well, we want to drive home how important it is to gather feedback before installing an iOS update. You always assume some risk installing a new piece of iOS software. Our feedback is a great starting point but you’ll want to branch out before installing the iOS 8.4 update.

We also bring this up so that you can put the iOS 8.4 update into perspective. There are always two sides to an update but typically only hear about one.

You might hear a lot about iOS 8.4 problems in the days and weeks ahead but it’s important to remember that they won’t impact every single device. In fact, iOS users dealing with problems are in the minority of millions and millions of iOS users worldwide.

Does iOS 8.4 have problems? Absolutely. But most of them are small and isolated to a few users. We haven’t heard about any major iOS 8.4 problems yet.

Fixes for iOS 8.4 Problems

If you run into an iOS 8.4 problem on your iPhone or iPad, don’t panic. While we might not see a new iOS update for awhile, there are proven fixes out there to try before you take the device into an Apple Store.

Those fixes, which range from fixes for battery life problems to installation problems aren’t going to work for everyone. That said, they are worth a try if you do run into some problems today or a month after installing the iOS 8.4 update on your device.

Our fixes are going to be a great starting point though you’ll want to broaden your horizons. Apple’s Discussion Forums always provide a number of potential fixes for serious issues and the MacRumors community is also a great resource. Keep those in mind as we push away from the iOS 8.4 release date.

You Can Downgrade to iOS 8.3

If you run into iOS 8.4 problems, remember, you can downgrade to iOS 8.3 for a limited time. We’re not sure when Apple will close up the loophole but it usually happens about two weeks after an update’s release.

We’ve put together a step-by-step guide that will take you through the iOS 8.4 to iOS 8.3 downgrade process. Just remember, if you’re coming from iOS 8.2 or below, you won’t be able to go back to anything older than iOS 8.3.

What’s Next

If you experience trouble on your device after installing iOS 8.4, note that you’re going to have to be proactive because we don’t know when Apple’s next iOS update is going to land.

There’s no guarantee that an iOS 8.4.1 update will roll out before the iOS 9 update this fall. There’s also no guarantee that an iOS 8.4.1 update will fix your problems. In fact, it might bring some new problems of its own. You cannot rely on Apple.

Now that iOS 8.4 is out, the next update in Apple’s pipeline is iOS 9. iOS 9 comes with a number of performance enhancements and we expect it to include bug fixes as well. Some of you might not be able to wait that long though so you’ll need to set out on your own.

What’s New in iOS 8.4

Apple Music Streaming

The new Apple Music app includes the new Apple Music streaming service designed to take on Spotify, Pandora and other services. The iOS 8.4 update enables this new app and includes a free three-month trial of the Apple Music service.

With Apple Music you can pay $9.99 a month for an individual or $14.99 a month for a family of up to six members and enjoy full albums on demand and save music for offline playback.

Apple Music uses your musical tastes to pick new music that you might enjoy listening to in a new For You section of the music app that will help you find new music to listen to. The video above shows how this works.

This new app replaces the Music app from iOS 8 and earlier. Apple is not adding another app you cannot install from the iPhone or iPad, just updating one that is already on your device.

52 Comments

Larry

06/30/2015 at 6:22 pm

Get a real phone apple fan boys!! Seems like all apple is after is $$$$ not the consumer every update is worse my Android came out 5.1 and other various updates in the last year and no issues at all and my phone is 2 years old and I have a newer android and no issues at all some friends of mine all they do is complaining about there iPhones apple is crap!! Ios 9 comming I can’t wait to see all the new issues to come on that I hope it’s so corrupt ios 9 apple goes down apple and safari is so 1980’s

Larry

07/01/2015 at 9:03 am

Admit all you apple fags just buy it to look important !! I happen to work next door to a apple store and all you people cry all the time at the genius bar all the time you buying crap and you know it and I like having all you line up idiots move away from my door at my store too and police do arrest people who fail to move too

Foomanchu

Hung1985

Jayson

06/30/2015 at 9:59 pm

I upgraded my os to 8.4 an now my mobile is totally worthless. It keeps shutting down even its fully charge.. It will stay open and when you open any app even the settings itself the phone will shutdown..

Remy

07/03/2015 at 6:46 am

I’m having the same problems where it kinda gets stuck on the screen I’m on and I have to keep pressing home button till it unfreezes. Also I went to sleep with 91% charge and I woke up to a death phone. It’s killing my battery even when I’m not using it. I hate it and the cons outweigh the pros so I’m going back to 8.3

M5

07/01/2015 at 11:24 am

Terrible update! I had 1,400 songs that I could play offline but after installing 8.4 I suddenly am not allowed to listen to my 1,400 songs. Of those I’ve only purchased 2 through iTunes. Good thing I updated it on my iPod and not my iPhone. In my iPhone I can turn Airplane mode on and still listen to my music but 8.4 won’t allow that on my iPod. Any fix to this? I don’t have the option “make available offline” so that doesn’t fix it. These are my 1,400 songs how is Apple allowed to prevent me from listening to them?

Ian

Wb

07/01/2015 at 2:04 pm

Does anyone know if you get charged for the music you download after the free trial is over? I have my auto renewal already turned off, but just wondering if I should even try out the new features IF I will still get charged afterwards?

That means it is unable to update over Wi-Fi. And you need to plug the device into a computer running the iTunes software. My AppleTV asked for that last winter. If you don’t have a desktop or laptop computer then you have to take it into the Apple store for them to do it. Or some cities at the library have computers that run iTunes. The regular library computers don’t though. Massive bummer, my sympathies.

Robert

07/03/2015 at 5:19 pm

My iPhone 5S now runs out of battery quickly and is running hot to touch. This is brand new to me since 8.4 update. In addition, launching the phone app causes it to freeze up for a minute or so. Missing calls as a result. Also had iPad stall in the installation process and had to do a restore.

Tita

07/12/2015 at 8:31 pm

I don’t need any of the new features that come with the update, what I really need seems to have been taken away…I just want to see the time length of my playlists from my iPhone. As a fitness instructor, I heavily relied on this feature, why would they take that away?

jim

DM

07/21/2015 at 3:56 pm

I Just contact the Apple support and they cannot solve it as well. They will suggest to re-sync it again to your iTunes. There’s no fix. I feel that they developed this upgrade to let all Apple users to stick with music purchased from iTunes only! :(

Mary Beth

07/24/2015 at 7:45 am

I had no choice but to update to 8.4 and I am so sorry I did!!! My text messages freeze. The only way to get them unfreeze is to reboot. I reboot about 7 times a day. And then there’s the matter of never being able to delete text messages. If I delete them, they come back. It’s driving me nuts. Any suggestions?

Amber

Judy

08/01/2015 at 5:47 pm

I cannot send text messages to other iPhones and androids since the 8.4 upgrade. I have to turn off iMessage to send a text to an android and then turn imessage back on to send an iMessage to my iPhone friends. How can I send text messages to iPhone users and android users at the same time?

jc

I was curious if you ever thought of changing the structure of your site?

Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or 2 pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?